The Journey - June 26, 2013

Psalm 127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain.

Too many parents are convinced that they must provide every want of their children, so they build and fill houses instead of building and filling lives.

They are convinced that little Bobby is Division I material so they make sure he’s on every team, gets every lesson, and goes to every camp regardless of the sacrifices of money and time for the rest of the family.

They are still complaining that there is no prayer in school, but seldom pray with their own kids, other than before meals, at home.

They leave it to Christian schools to instill Christian values.

They want their teens connected to church without having them attend youth group.

They work and save so that little Susie has an all-expenses-paid four years to the college of her choice.

It’s the teacher’s fault if their child doesn’t make the grade.

It’s the coach’s fault if their child doesn’t make the play.

They play the “I work hard to provide for my family” card instead of the “I work long and hard to fill an inner need of satisfaction and meaning” reality.

They still believe the “Oh, it’s not ‘quantity time’ but ‘quality time’” lie.

They “fear” social media, but still provide their children with smartphones and Facebook accounts.

They decry the “nanny state” but build “nanny families.”

They work harder to keep their bodies fit than they do to keep their marriages strong.

As parents, we need to be more concerned with the spiritual than we are with the athletics, academics, arts, awards, and appearance. Unless we are serious and intentional about building our family according to the Lord’s instruction, we will get stuck with a big house filled with small, self-absorbed and self-saturated people.

Father, we acknowledge that unless You are the architect and builder of our family, we labor in vain. Don’t let us labor in vain. Help us to see what we need to change and give us the courage to change it. Give us the strength to be godly leaders of our children. In Jesus’ name. Amen.